Devan was already writing down on his notepad once they entered into the museum,"You have nothing to worry about Miss Andromeda, I would be foolish not to miss such hidden lore of such a famous, or maybe the word is infamous, Bloodsport." he says, copying down every script he reads.

When they entered the VIP party room, Devan nods to himself as he stares at all the people present,"Excellent, I could interview all sorts of people here. But, everyone remember the mission, Manshoon is here somewhere. Along with all kinds of nasty fellows, watch yourself." he says as he accidentally bumps into King Yek,"Oof, my apologies... Ah, your our sponsor, of course you'd be here. But I am rather surprise your actually here." he says, though he tries to see if theirs anyone else he can talk to, but all he sees are just a bunch of random rich people that he may have interviewed on a scandal or two at one point.

12:22, Today: Devan Crier rolled 16 using 1d20+2.  Perception.
12:23, Today: Devan Crier rolled 1 using 1d12.  Let's see who I talk to.

Onyxclaw looks at Yek and smiles with a nod, though hearing Grenda's improvements made him a little squeemish. "She smart goblin - good learner." The kobold looked at the prince and bowed. "Kobold....yes. Some alchemy. More inventor."

he moved his hand, showing silver at his side. "Onyxclaw made. Good friend."

When the mention of the megalodon was said he nodded and looked at Yek. "Big shark King Yek - very big." he whispered

Roxanne notes and led Jimmy through the crowd, intermingling and getting to know who was who.She didn't know what to do with all of the information she had gathered just yet, but would be sure to share what she had learned with her fellow party members at the soonest opportunity.

When she saw Andromeda was a bit short on coin for the book she wanted, Roxanne slipped some money into her hand. "Here, use this. Seems like too good an opportunity to pass up if you ask me." She gave the Volo guy a toothy smile.

---

Perception with inspiration resulted in a 21.
09:18, Today: Roxanne Drubble rolled 6 using 1d6.  Inspiration .
09:17, Today: Roxanne Drubble rolled 15 using 1d20+6.  Perception roll.

Also giving Andromeda 50 coins for the book she wants.

Andromeda, Roxanne and Jimmy: Volo takes your money and hands you his book, but then grabs it back, "Oh wait! Let me autograph it of course! It will be worth 10x what you paid for it now! Names? Andromeda, if I remember one minute ago, and you two? Or how about I make it to your fighting group? Or just one of you?"

ITEM ACQUIRED: DragonBowl Monster Manual. Later you may make survival or nature checks on opponents with advantage.
This message was lightly edited by the GM at 01:52, Thu 08 Sept 2022.

"Oh you don't have to include me, I'm just a stray they helped on the way. Jimmy Darkmagic Buchanan The Third...it's B-u-c-h-a-n-a-n."

He makes sure Volo spells it right.

Onyx and Devan:
King Yek shakes his head, "My dear prince, a megalodon would not fit in our humble slave market, but I do believe that if we continue to trade together I will be able to afford it next year."

Prince Jabrini smiles, "Of course, King Yek, of course. When you are ready. For now I have ancient crocodiles that may interest you? They are smaller and don't mind tight spaces."

Yek is delighted, "Ahhhh sounds like a goblin! Ha! Perfect, hook me up with half a dozen."

Yek turns back to you, "You're all set with registration, but you do need to get yourselves checked into your yurts. You know what a yurt is don't you? It's a fancy name for a tent. It makes it sound so much better than saying "tent." I love it, the Games Master has thought of ways to make everything so much better! I hope to meet him someday."

Prince, "No one ever meets him unless they are the winning team and their sponsor. So I suppose that you have a chance, Yek, except that you don't, because my team will win."

You now know where you need to go to get your yurts. You can go when ready, or talk to anyone else.

If I were you I'd go eat all their expensive food. But I'm also fat. That's something a fat guy would do.

Roxanne's unexpected generosity in a moment of impoverished embarrassment nearly brought tears to Andromeda's eyes.  She took hold of the dwarfess's hand and said with gratitude, "Oh, thank you, Roxy!  I'll certainly repay you as soon as I'm able."  Turning to Volo she simply nodded giddily at the offer of an autograph.  She supplied, "Make it out to Roxanne and the Dragonstar Syndicate... and Jimmy, of course.  We shall use the knowledge herein to achieve victory, I'm sure.  I will let you go now, mister Geddarm, but thank you so much for indulging me."  The druidess clutched the book to her chest and was about to scurry off, but then thought better of it and handed the tome to Roxanne.  "You should be the first to read it since it you bought it, Roxy!  We can share in the quest for knowledge."

Whether Roxy took the tome or no, Romda scurried away to find Travic and gush to him about meeting Volo and the book that would surely provide the foreknowledge needed to defeat the Dragonbowl.  After several minutes of babbling she took his arm and pointed to where the elite staff were mingling, and gave the names and titles she'd managed to glean (pointing out the Perception 20 group).  She whispered to Travic, "They surely know more about what's to come than anyone else... Let's meet them!"

Arm-in-arm with Travic, Andromeda greeted two random members of the elite staff group with a polite curtsey, "Good evening.  I am Andromeda and this is Mister Televentor, of the Dragonstar Syndicate, pleasure to meet you!  Congratulations on putting together quite the spectacular event.  We were just so, um... curious about what to expect, weren't we, Travic...?"  The druidess turned to Travic, hopeful that his charms might rescue her awkward introduction.

---

Consider this a Help action to give Travic advantage on some kind of excellent Charisma check toward the elite staff.  Feel free to choose which staff members we approach, Trav, or otherwise we can roll d6s to see who we get?

Devan was completely loss on what the conversation was going on about with a King and a Prince,"Hmm, yes, very interesting but, uh, I remembered that I drop my coin purse somewhere over their." he says, about to leave this bizarre conversation when he heard something outlandish that he decided to walk backward to the conversation,"Excuse me, your team will win? Hmph, I wouldn't be so overconfident about that my good sir. In fact, I'm pretty confident myself that the Dragonstar Syndicate will take the cup. It's not a chance but a guarantee."

Onyxclaw nods top Yek, and withdraws with a smile. "We fight good....see you after."

The kobold made his way with andromeda, silver at his side, and said little as she made her introductions. When they looked at him, he smiled almost simply.

To save you from searching for it:


There's (1)King Yek! And oh my! Is that the famous (2)Jarlaxyle Benrae? His hat sure is amazing! And (3)Volo! His book has helped a few of you on monster nature checks! Maybe you can get his autograph! (4)Lady Hoxton seems like she's had too many BloodWizers and is flirting with (5)Lord Bertrand. You recognize them of course as Waterdeep Nobility, often in the local gossip.

Perception check 20:
You catch the names and ranks of all DragonBowl elite staff:
6.DRAGON SECRETARY: Kenja Vellurn - basically the woman in charge of everything, second only to the Games Master who does not attend any social gathers these days.
7.HEAD OF SECURITY: Zalia Skyblade
8.HEAD OF COMMERCE: Nirgel Nashut
9.HEAD OF ENTERTAINMENT: Rafar Larsun
10.HEAD OF HOSPITALITY: NAdinee
11.CHIEF ENGINEER: Eberk Katzenjammer

Travic was trying to stay low key...and was a bit shy around someone the likes of Volo. Someone with his level of accomplishment should not be annoyed by hanger-ons and well wishers. Of course, when Andromeda asks, even people like Volo listen. "You are far braver than I, my lady. I could never summon the courage to talk to a scholar like Volo!" When she more or less drags Travic over to meet the elite, despite his instincts to hide, he accepts. The he proceeds to ask the Dragon Secretary herself, Kenja Vellurn, useful questions.

"This is quite the spectacle you have created, Lady Vellurn. As the spokesman for Lady Andromeda's Dragonstar Syndicate, there is much interest in the creatures featured in the games. And of course, how our very skilled group might partake of the rewards of any successful matches?"

OOC:
10:51, Today: Travic Televentor rolled 23 using 2d20+7, dropping the lowest dice only.  Deception with advantage.

Travic of course chooses the most important person in the entire room: Kenja Vellurn the acting head of the tournament in the Games Master's absence. Her raven black hair has a streak of silver (leading to some calling her as 'Queen Badger'... behind her back) that runs perfectly down the center all the way to the end of her back. Standing over 6 foot tall, and stick thin, she is an easily recognised figure at the Games. She dresses in expensive robes, emblazoned with the Dragonbowl official logo in gold.

"A pleasure to meet you. It is not often that I meet the competitors themselves, I am not sure how you got in here, as this party is for the sponsors and other VIP, but now that you're here you have my blessing, as long as you don't do anything to disturb our festivities." She smiles graciously, giving you her OK!

"It sounds like you're asking how the DragonBowl itself works? I don't even know where to start. I'm so used to running everything, how would I explain it to a contestant? Hmmm..." Of course that big wizard brain of hers only needs a moment to ponder it before telling you probably more than you bargained for.

You're now aware of the info I'm putting in the DragonBowl Info Thread and the schedule which I put in time tracker.
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:13, Thu 08 Sept 2022.

"Volo was quite gracious!  Perhaps that was due to my open admiration for his written works, but even so.  He also still charged a rather handsome fee for the Dragonbowl guidebook, but, well... you can't put a price on knowledge."


"Oh, we wouldn't dream of causing trouble, madame Dragon Secretary!"  Andromeda chuckled nervously and glanced around in search of the rest of her notorious troublemaker comrades.  It was rather a relief to be welcomed by the Dragon Secretary herself, which ought to prevent their being ejected for lack of invitations!  Andromeda smiled at Travic and squeezed his arm supportively for his diplomatic skill.  The druidess listened carefully to Vellurn's rather exhaustive explanation of the Dragonbowl rules, and even took notes in her journal.  The rules themselves painted a rather vivid picture of the deadly gladiatorial contest, and she had gone even paler than usual by the end of it.  "Thank you, madame, that was most informative.  Five battles over the course of three days, by my count... Lovely!"

She shared a look with Travic, bade the Dragon Secretary a polite good evening and then pulled him aside.  She whispered, "My goodness, we're obliged to murder every last opponent in order to advance!  This will be a bloodthirsty spectacle, indeed.  The resurrection insurance is priced rather steep, but I daresay we would be glad to have it if we need it..."

Getting an idea, Andromeda approached the Head of Commerce, Nirgel Nashut, and greeted them with a curtsey, "Good evening, sir!  I am Andromeda of the Dragonstar Syndicate, and I was wondering about sponsorship opportunities for a very promising team such as ours?  Resurrection insurance does not come cheap!  Ha ha..."

When Andromeda had offered to let Roxanne read the book first, the dwarven woman began to refuse but ultimately decided to take her up on the offer. She was eager to learn as much as she could about their opponents. Especially since based on what Travic had found out, the battles would be lethal.

She remained near her comrades as she perused the tome's pages, but she decided to let the others handle the talking bits. It wasn't really her forte anyway. She did nudge Jimmy and Devan though and said, "Jimmy, you're a rock star, right? You any good at schmoozing? And Devan, if you're half as good a reporter as you claim to be, surely you can dig up some dirt or something? Maybe something we can use to help encourage people to keep our team alive if we fall to this guy?" She pointed to a page in her book depicting a particularly nasty foe they might face. "I'm going to keep reading up on who we might have to fight. Form some battle plans for different as scenarios."

The golden boy of Dragonbowl's executive staff, Nirgel is an effusive and ambitious young tiefling impeccably presented in a neatly turned out black waistcoast (with white Dragonbowl logo) over black satin shirt with matching lace ruffs, knee-high polished leather boots with sparkling gold buckles and flowing cape with crimson lining. He has neatly-trimmed hair, parted to one side, and a pristine moustache and goatee beard with waxed tips. He has bright eyes and a ready smile.

“Yes it is expensive isn’t it. I believe it is an unfortunate oversight on behalf of our secretary. Too bad. Yet, it is my job to always be searching for ways to make more profit for the DragonBowl. I was the driving force behind this years’ first ever ArcTech Expo, if you have a chance be sure to check that out! I believe the DragonBowl could be bigger and better than ever if I were given the Secretary position. Anyhow, as for your life insurance, typically Team Sponsors will foot the bill, but if yours was not willing there is a way you could earn it. Not a simple job, but definitely worth life insurance for your team members.”

Nirgel then looks around, a bit suspiciously, “But I gotta know if I can trust you. Have you made any sort of agreements with anyone else here at the games? Other than King Yek, I mean?”

This will require a persuasion or deception check, guidance and help allowed, but the guy is standing right in front of you, so make it not so obvious.

Jimmy’s rage flared up just a bit and he sarcastically replied, “Well yes, Roxanne, I love to kiss ass to people who think of me as a piece of meat. Dance monkey boy dance!” He then does a little monkey dance.

He calmed down and admitted his true thoughts on the issue, “All these rich folk make me sick. With a simple snap of their fingers they could change our fate for best or worst, no man should be able to play god. Still, I can turn on the charm if it will help us. Who do you think I should try to win some favor with?”

Roxanne does get lots of info on the teams, but I don’t wanna overwhelm you with all of that info just yet. When it becomes important I will share it.

Devan for now walks away from the prince as Roxanne nudges his shoulder. He stares at the page she's showing him,"To this guy, huh? Miss Drubble, I'm not an investigator, and I don't know what your talking about, reporter me, never. But I will do my best." he says, walking around the crowd to find someone. Well he did find somebody, it was a complete stranger he has never met before,"Ah, well greetings to you, the name is Devan Crier. Member of the Dragonstar Syndicate, and you are?" he says to the chief engineer of this tournament,"This whole party is a bit of a bore, but I do like to have a conversation to help lighten things up. Especially if it's talk about the past, would you like to indulge me in yours?"

15:06, Today: Devan Crier rolled 11 using 1d12.  Round 2 of who I talk to again
15:10, Today: Devan Crier rolled 13 using 1d20+5.  Insight Check (Let's See what Info I can gleam from him).

Roxanne gave a thumbs-up of appreciation to Devan before replying to Jimmy. "You make a fair point, Jimmy," Roxanne admitted."However, if they are going to affect our fate on a whim, might as well be for the better, eh? The head of entertainment, Rafar Larsun, seems like they may be worth your time. If you can convince them we'll put on a good show, maybe they'll help us stick around a bit longer?" Roxanne's suggestion was in the form of a question because she really truly was not super great at navigating social webs such as these. Her swarm buzzed quietly with mild apprehension.

Jimmy's face lights up! The head of entertainment? That sounds perfect. He practiced his best smile and then headed on over to shmoooooze.

"The word of the Dragonstar Syndicate is our bound, is it not my lady? Our success comes not just from the might of steel and sorcery, but the truth of our bonds to each other, and to those who rely on us." Travic says. Even as he does so, he stares intently into the man's eyes, holding his gaze and moving slightly in front of Andromeda. Thus giving her the chance to cast gudience.

OOC-distracting the guy using the help action and Gudiance from Andromeda. Planning on rolling deception once we get DM's ok at my tactics.

"I'm afraid I've not heard of this ArcTech, but it sounds intriguing and... cutting edge!  You'll have to tell us about it sometime."  Andromeda was a more of a scholar than a schmoozer, but she could recognize when someone was excited about a particular topic.  Nirgel seemed excited about ArcTech, and so asking more about it would surely get on his good side!  It made sense, when she thought about it.

Nirgel then mentioned the possibility of a job to earn Resurrection insurance, which piqued her interest.  When he leaned in with a conspiratorial question about their trustworthiness, she backed up Travic, "Oh, certainly!  I don't believe I could tell a convincing lie even if I wanted to, which I don't."  That was true enough, although she did summon a little sparkle behind Travic's back while he regaled the Head of Commerce.  That wasn't lying, though, just helping Travic to be his best self!  She added more quietly, "No, we've made no agreements with other sponsors.  I wasn't aware that was a thing!  We're rather new to this, you understand.  Wait, is Volo a sponsor?  I agreed to pay him fifty gold for a copy of his latest book, but surely such a mundane transaction isn't what you mean.  Actually our companion, Roxanne, paid for it.  She's quite wonderful."

In hindsight it might have been wiser not to mention a possible exception, but this was as good a demonstration as any that the druidess was honest to a fault!

---

Helping via naive honesty and with a sneaky Guidance while Travic has Nirgel's attention!

All good. Roll it.

In reply to DM (msg # 262):

ooc-00:36, Today: Travic Televentor rolled 2 using 1d4.  Guidance .
00:36, Today: Travic Televentor rolled 22 using 2d20+7, dropping the lowest dice only.  Deception w/advantage .

Total=24

This message was last edited by the player at 04:37, Sun 11 Sept 2022.